The Havas Lofts Dioramas

A natural habitat of honey bees and lions in western Europe

Being a Lofter in Paris sometimes felt like looking at a diorama, because my whole life was set in a different environment. I glanced into different aspects of a familiar, but foreign, world.

I was here at BETC to observe and analyze. If you try to get to the core of how the work of creatives differ from agency to agency, you have to remove layer after layer: Topic, Client, Budget, People. If you remove all of these layers, which form another product but doesn’t make the difference, then you will probably find out why they obtain different results.

Two French creatives during a brainstorming session

I removed the layers and discovered the very important aspect of every project: insight. My host team at BETC is very insight-driven and focused. Together with the help of a special team member, a creative strategist, they work on finding and adjusting relevant insights. I think this is quite clever because you often find workflows where the creative team starts and the strategist stops. However, this insight is a solid foundation for an awesome idea that should be questioned and adjusted or rejected during the process. Through collaboration, the idea can grow and remain strong in all winds of doubt.

I love dioramas because, while they are a bit morbid and strange, they show insights and let us immerse ourselves into a scene (Yes, I know they are also a melancholic view on the past because virtual reality offers much more, but that is another topic). This relates to our work because in order to find true insights, we should immerse completely in the situation and lifestyle of the people we want to reach with our ads. How else could communication be meaningful and add value to people’s lives?

Last, but definitively not least, I want to mention my fantastic fellow Lofters. We shared our experiences, perspectives and one or two glasses of wine. We live totally different lives on different spots on the globe, but there is so much more that brings us together than tears us apart…

Two American, a British and a German (taking the picture) Havasians in an unusual environment, a french restaurant.

… That’s it! Now Havas lofts is history. Au revoir, bye-bye und auf Wiedersehen.